Most motorized vehicles use inflatable tires in order to cushion shocks and vibrations encountered in driving. The tire usually has an inflatable airspace or an innertube into which air at higher than atmospheric pressure is pumped by an air chuck, which is generally a fitting attached to a hose of high pressure air through a handle portion. Most of these inflatable tires have a valve stem with a valve to which an air chuck is temporarily attached, in order to direct high pressure air into the airspace or air cavity. In order that air flow is efficiently channeled into the valve stem, the air chuck is fitted with a nozzle that ideally forms an air-tight seal with the valve. In order to form such an air-tight seal, it is important that the nozzle of the air chuck align correctly with the valve within a limited range of angles.
In the mid 1980s, most sport motorcycles came with 18 inch or 19 inch front rims along with relatively small brake rotors. At this time, there was a lot of room between the rim and the brake rotor and accessing the air valve was relatively easy. In the mid 1990s, motorcycles were being produced with more and more power and thus needed more traction and better brakes. By the early 2000s, the rim sizes had decreased to 17 and even 16 inches while the diameter of the brake rotors continued to increase. As shown in FIG. 1 (prior art) there is very little room on a modern motorcycle in between the brake rotor and the rim. At present, there is barely enough room to get your hand in between the rim and the rotor, let alone an air chuck.
FIG. 1 (prior art) shows a tire 1 having an air cavity 2, which could be an airspace in the tire, or could be an innertube. A valve 3 having a valve stem 4 allows the introduction of air at high pressure into the air cavity 2. A prior art air chuck 5 has a head which attaches to the valve stem 4, making a temporary attachment to an air hose 7 through which high pressure air 9 is channelled. Also shown are the brake rotors 8, which in earlier models of motor cycles presented no problem to the use of the prior air chucks 5 and the rim 6. However, it can be seen from the figure that the brake rotor 8 interferes with the handle 7 of the prior art air chuck 5, as seen from the circled area. In reality, the air chuck 5 would not be able to cross the lines of the brake rotor, and would be limited to an approach angle which would not allow the handle 7 of the air chuck 5 to intrude into the brake rotor 8. As a result, the head 6 of the prior art air chuck 5 would not be able to attach squarely to the valve stem 4 when air 9 is being pumped into the tire 1.
As anyone who has ever inflated a tire knows, if the head of the air chuck is not seated squarely on the valve stem, the pressurized air stream will not be efficiently directed into the tire, but allows pressurized air to spray out at the connecting juncture, making the process of filing the tire more time consuming and frustrating. In addition, the effort required to get the air chuck and nozzle in alignment may even result in injury to the user's hand, if parts have become heat through use, or there may be other unfortunate consequences.
Thus, there is a need for an air chuck having a swivel head which provides a range of angles for attaching the air chuck to the tire valve.